Button sewing apparatus



F. D. BAILEY 2,826,159

BUTTON SEWING APPARATUS March 11, 1958 Filed Nov. 9, 1953 FIG. 9

FIGJ

1 /MIIL 15 INVENTOR. FIG. l2 FRED D. BAILEY ATT'Y.

BUTTON SEWING APPARATUS Fred E). Bailey, Troy, N. Y., assignor to Cluett, Peabody 85 Co., Inc, Troy, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application November 9, 1953, Serial No. 390,968 3 Claims. (Cl. 112-115) This invention relates to sewing machines, and particularly to an improved method of and apparatus for attaching buttons to garments.

In the manufacture of garments, it is important to incorporate a reinforcement backing or anchorage element for the fabric to which the buttons are attached, at points where only a single ply of material occurs, or where the shirt fabric, Without reinforcement with other fabric layers, is too weak to hold button stitching through repeated launderings, without pulling through the fabric, causing the button to become unattached.

Heretofore the positioning of the backing material or anchorage element in alignment with the button was done without benefit of guides or stops, and the correct positioning of the backing material depended on the skill of the operator.

An object of this invention is to provide an improved method of and apparatus for attaching buttons to garments needing a backing, with which accurate positioning of the backing can be obtained without special skill, and a less troublesome and faster and smoother manufacturing operation is obtained.

Another object of this invention is to provide a simple attachment which will remain fixed to a button sewing machine, regardless of Whether buttons are being attached to the garment with or Without backing material or anchorage elements, and which will be relatively simple, practical, compact and inexpensive.

Various other objects and advantages will be apparent from the following description of one example of apparatus embodying this invention, and the novel features will be particularly pointed out hereinafter in connection with the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawing:

Fig. 1 is a perspective of the sewing end of a common button sewing machine showing the location of the feed plate constructed in accordance with this invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan of one improved feed plate, apart from the button sewing machine and constructed in accordance with this invention;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the feed plate shown in Fig.2;

Fig. 4 is a sectional elevation of the feed plate, the section being taken approximately along the line 44 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a bottom view of the feed plate shown in Fig. 2 with the cover plate removed;

Fig. 6 is a plan of the cover plate;

Fig. 7 is a perspective showing a slight modification of this invention;

Fig. 8 is a plan of the feed plate shown in Fig. 7, apart from the sewing machine, constructed in accordance with this invention;

Fig. 9 is a side elevation of the feed plate as shown in Fig. 8;

Fig. 10 is a section taken approximately along line 1ti10 of Fig. 8;

Fig. 11 is a plan of the cover plate shown in Fig. 8;

States Patent O 2,826,159 Patented Mar. 11, 1958 ice Fig. 12 is a plan of the anchorage element; and

Fig. 13 is an end view of the anchorage element.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in Figs. 1 to 6, the sewing machine is a common type, button sewing machine having a head 1, which mounts a vertically disposed needle bar 2 for endwise reciprocation in the usual manner. Removably mounted in the lower end of the needle bar 2 is a needle 3, the upper end of the needle 3 entering a recess in the lower end of the needle bar and being secured therein by a set screw 4. The lower end portion of the needle has a thread eye 5, through which a sewing thread is passed or threaded as usual in sewing machines of this type.

Also mounted on the head 1, adjacent to the needle bar 2, is a button clamp lifter bar 6, which coacts with levers and links leading to a foot pedal to forcibly raise, by foot pressure, the button clamps 7 prior to insertion of the garment fabric in the machine.

Attached to and forming the upper end face of the throat 8 of the machine is a throat plate 9. Directly above the throat plate 9 and beneath the button clamps 7, is the feed plate 10 fixedly mounted on a feed plate lever 11 by means of a stud 12. The usual thread wiper 13 pushes aside the thread at the conclusion of the machine cycle.

The feed plate 10 (see Fig. 2) includes a body 14 with a top face 15 and a bottom face 16, and a cover plate 17. The feed plate 10 is attached to the feed plate lever 11 by a stud 12 that passes through a hole 19 at one end of the feed plate 10. There is a chamfer 20 along the free side and front edges of the bottom face 16 of the body 14 which receives a line of solder 21 that attaches the cover plate 17 to the body 14. Equidistantly from the longitudinal center line of the body 14, and in its bottom face 16, a slot or recess 22 is milled or formed to a depth equal to the approximate thickness of the anchorage element 25. A slot is provided in the free end of the body 14, with inwardly convergent sidewalls 23 leading from the free end edge 24 of the body 14 and terminating at its inner end in the sides of a needle clearance hole 26 corresponding to that of a common type of feed plate. The cover plate 17 (Fig. 6) with a needle clearance hole 18 in its interior portion, is placed face to face against the bottom face 16 of the body 14, an solder 21 is flowed into the chamfer 20. The slot or recess 22 and the adjacent face of the cover plate 17 form a cavity which is approximately equal in width and thickness to the size of the anchorage element 25 of Figs. 12 and 13.

When attaching buttons to a garment needing an anchorage element, the operator places the anchorage element 25, shown in Figs. 12 and 13, flatly against the upper surfaceof the cover plate 17, and pushes the element 25 into and along the slot or recess 22 in the improved feed plate 10, by urging it toward the back of the slot or recess 22 with finger pressure until the element 25 is seated against the closed end of the slot. This operation positions the element 25 centrally about the needle clearance hole 26 in the feed plate 10. The button is then inserted in the button clamps 7 which are positioned above the feed plate 10 and, by foot pressure against a pedal, the button clamps 7 are raised to allow for the insertion of the garment material between the anchorage element 25 and the button. The button clamps 7 are then lowered by releasing the foot pedal and the downward pressure of the button clamps toward the feed plate holds the garment material in place while the sewing machine automatically progresses through the cycle of attaching the button, garment and anchorage element 25 together. At the end of the usual sewing cycle the garment, with the button and element 25 attached thereto, is removed from the machine by the operator.

The modification shown in Figs. 7 to 11 comprises a feed plate 27 with a body 28 and a cover plate 29. The

method of attachment of the feed plate 27 to the machine and the general location are the same as the feed plate heretofore described. A slot 30 is milled or otherwise formed in the upper face 31 of the body 28 which corresponds in depth and width to the thickness and diameter of the anchorage element (Figs. 12 and 13). The cover plate 29 is placed face to face with the upper face 31 of the body and a line of solder 32 attaches the cover plate 29 to the body 28. A slot 33 which slightly exceeds the width of the needle clearance hole 34 is formed in the cover plate 29 extending from its free front edge inwardly and ending at a point beyond the rear wall of the needle clearance hole 34 in the body 28.

The anchorage element 25 is placed in the slot in the upper face 31 of the body 28 and is then pushed toward the rear of the slot 30 by finger pressure. The remainder of the operation is the same as heretofore described in connection with the feed plate shown in Figs. 1 to 6.

Prior to the advent of the above described invention the anchorage element was placed over the needle clearance hole and held in place by the operator until the garment was placed in position over the element, and after the button was positioned in the button clamps, the clamps were allowed to press against and hold this assembly of parts during the sewing operation. In the event that the anchorage element had become displaced before or during sewing, due to the inability of the machine or garment fabric to hold it in position, the anchorage element had to be removed by cutting the button stitching and going through the assembly procedure again. This operation as described was often repeated as many as three or four times until the anchorage element was attached in its proper position.

It can be understood that such repetition of procedure is a costly one in the process of mass production where tenths of a second may mean the difference between profit and loss on an operation.

Applicants invention eliminates the necessity of operator skill and also makes it practically impossible to incorrectly position the anchorage element. The new feed plate construction as described and illustrated herein may be left in place on the standard button attaching machine during standard button operations as well as during the operation of attaching buttons which need the anchorage element.

An advantage of this invention is that the anchorage element and button are placed in position in the machine before the garment is placed in sewing position, both of which can be quickly and easily performed where no garment is in the Way, and there is no danger of displacing the anchorage element from aligned position in the step of placing the garment in sewing position. No

special skill is required in properly placing the anchorage element in aligned or sewing position beneath the button.

It will be understood that various changes in the details, materials and arrangement of parts which have been herein described and illustrated in order to explain the nature of the invention, may be made by those skilled in the art within the principle and scope of the invention, as expressed in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. An improved rigid anchorage element holding feed plate for use in a button sewing machine, said feed plate having an upper face, a lower face, an inner end and an outer end, said feed plate formed with an open ended U-shaped recess having its upper and lower walls positioned between said upper and lower faces, said U-shaped recess having parallel side walls and comprising an inner end corresponding to the curve of the U and an outer portion corresponding 'to the remaining open end portion of the U, said recess being formed of a width and depth to receive an anchorage element, said U-shaped recess formed with the open end thereof disposed toward and opening through said outer end of said feed plate, said feed plate formed with a needle clearance passage therethrough, said passage disposed to correspond with the center area of said inner end of said recess, the area of said needle passage being less than the area of said inner portion of said recess, said upper face slotted from said needle hole outwardly to said outer end, said slot communicating with said recess through said upper face, a substantial part of the portion of said recess around said needle passage from the inner end of said recess at least as far outward as the outer side of said needle passage remaining covered by said upper face, and said feed plate having an extension on the outer end thereof, the upper surface of said extension being in substantially the same plane as the lower wall of said recess.

2. An anchorage element holding feed plate as in claim 1 and wherein said upper wall of said recess is formed by an attached cover plate.

3. An anchorage element holding feed plate as in claim 1 and wherein said lower wall of said recess and said extension are formed by an attached cover plate.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 268,930 Phelps Dec. 12, 1882 1,062,328 Gans May 20, 1913 1,363,172 Tucker Dec. 21, 1920 1,405,477 Barron Feb. 7, 1922 1,531,019 Orlow Mar. 24, 1925 1,879,709 Rich Sept. 27, 1932 2,071,371 Wilson Feb. 23, 1937 2,387,416 Stuart Oct. 23, 1945 FOREIGN PATENTS 363,874 Great Britain Dec. 31, 1931 

